Atticus771
04-07-2006, 01:49 PM
No, you're not going crazy. You read correctly.
Heat have somehow avoided a fine mess
Rasheed Wallace wants to know why after Riley, O'Neal aired gripes about officials.
Chris McCosky / The Detroit News
MIAMI -- The Pistons were somewhat bemused by the fact that neither Heat coach Pat Riley nor Shaquille O'Neal had, as of Thursday morning, drawn fines for making derogatory comments about Stu Jackson, director of operations for the NBA, and his officiating crew.
Last Sunday, O'Neal and Riley suggested referees were calling games unfairly toward O'Neal. O'Neal went further, saying he believed the refs had an agenda against him.
"They just need to be consistent in how they call the game," O'Neal said. "And it all starts at the top. When you got a guy like Stu Jackson running stuff, it's obvious why the referees are the way they are. … They make these rules up and they do not follow them because I am bigger and stronger. We all know it's a double standard."
O'Neal complained again after the team's victory Tuesday, telling reporters: "They have rules that they write down. I just want them to enforce them consistently. Like I know, I got tackled under the basket. If I had done that, they would have given me a flagrant foul."
Rasheed Wallace, coming off a one-game suspension for reaching the limit on technicals, could only shake his head that those comments went unpunished.
"That goes to show you who's running the league," he said. "Let me say something like that and they would probably try to blackball me out the league again."
Wallace said he wasn't frustrated by it, just curious.
"It just makes them look bad," he said of the league. "They always say, (commissioner) David Stern always says, it's 'our league,' our league together. But it isn't. You know they have their favorites and it just so happens that me and the Pistons ain't one of them."
Here's the kicker: On Wednesday, the league announced that O'Neal was a finalist for the Joe Dumars Trophy, given to the player who "best exemplifies the ideals of sportsmanship on the court."
Shaq being nominated for this award is a sure sign that this league is spiraling out of control faster than a Rick Carlisle time out following a 4-0 run. If he actually wins the award, Joe should call the league office and have his name removed from the trophy.
Sportsmanship isn't whining about every call you don't get. Sportsmanship isn't refusing to acknowledge when the other team was better and simply beat you. Sportsmanship isn't claiming the league has a 'double standard' because you've lost a few games here and there.
Heat have somehow avoided a fine mess
Rasheed Wallace wants to know why after Riley, O'Neal aired gripes about officials.
Chris McCosky / The Detroit News
MIAMI -- The Pistons were somewhat bemused by the fact that neither Heat coach Pat Riley nor Shaquille O'Neal had, as of Thursday morning, drawn fines for making derogatory comments about Stu Jackson, director of operations for the NBA, and his officiating crew.
Last Sunday, O'Neal and Riley suggested referees were calling games unfairly toward O'Neal. O'Neal went further, saying he believed the refs had an agenda against him.
"They just need to be consistent in how they call the game," O'Neal said. "And it all starts at the top. When you got a guy like Stu Jackson running stuff, it's obvious why the referees are the way they are. … They make these rules up and they do not follow them because I am bigger and stronger. We all know it's a double standard."
O'Neal complained again after the team's victory Tuesday, telling reporters: "They have rules that they write down. I just want them to enforce them consistently. Like I know, I got tackled under the basket. If I had done that, they would have given me a flagrant foul."
Rasheed Wallace, coming off a one-game suspension for reaching the limit on technicals, could only shake his head that those comments went unpunished.
"That goes to show you who's running the league," he said. "Let me say something like that and they would probably try to blackball me out the league again."
Wallace said he wasn't frustrated by it, just curious.
"It just makes them look bad," he said of the league. "They always say, (commissioner) David Stern always says, it's 'our league,' our league together. But it isn't. You know they have their favorites and it just so happens that me and the Pistons ain't one of them."
Here's the kicker: On Wednesday, the league announced that O'Neal was a finalist for the Joe Dumars Trophy, given to the player who "best exemplifies the ideals of sportsmanship on the court."
Shaq being nominated for this award is a sure sign that this league is spiraling out of control faster than a Rick Carlisle time out following a 4-0 run. If he actually wins the award, Joe should call the league office and have his name removed from the trophy.
Sportsmanship isn't whining about every call you don't get. Sportsmanship isn't refusing to acknowledge when the other team was better and simply beat you. Sportsmanship isn't claiming the league has a 'double standard' because you've lost a few games here and there.